OK it's aligned. Not much fun, but something to think about. I kept wondering why am I doing all this instead of listening to music? But it sounds good now, so I'm glad I did it. The final perfect alignment to the Technics protractor required moving the cart out almost to the end of the slots and twisting it slightly compared to the cast aluminum edges of the headshell. It also required two fistfuls of precious hair be pulled out, but fortunately no one was injured.
With no ground wire connected, there is no hum from the Bellari anymore. No question the sound is hugely improved over the last setup, but CD kicks butt on this analog rig. But at least it's listenable now, not boring. Frequency response is much better top and bottom, soundstaging, slam, everything's better. The wow is noticable now and then, even on quartz direct drive. I can hear sustained notes sag sometimes. The midrange tone is nice, but bass is slightly warm and highs are a tad hot. Time to roll in some tubes.
I'll try putting the Shure back in at some point too, definitely with a new headshell. Maybe buy me a nice new audiophile record without pops and hiss.
Thanks for all the help guys. It's much appreciated.
Rich
